Olympus folders
For two decades, Olympus (or its predecessor Takachiho) produced folding cameras for 120 film. The first models were the 4.5×6 format Semi Olympus. Then followed the 6×6 and 4.5×6 dual-format Olympus Six that was made before, during, and immediately after the war. From 1948, improved models were sold as the Chrome Six. Semi Olympus The first camera made by Takachiho (later Olympus) was the Semi Olympus (セミ・オリンパス). It was a 4.5×6cm folding camera making 16 exposures on 120 film, with a vertical folding bed and a folding optical finder. The body was made by the Japanese company Proud, and was a copy of the Balda Baldax for the #0 shutter size. The leather was embossed OLYMPUS. The lens was a four-element Zuiko 75mm f:4.5, later marked 7.5cm. It was the first Olympus camera lens, marked Takatiho Tokyo (in which "Takatiho" is an alternative romanization of Takachiho). It was focused by turning the front element. Today the Semi Olympus is usually called "Semi Olympus I", but it is unsure if this designation was used at the time it was sold. Most sources say that it was first sold in 1936 with a Compur shutter to 1/250, and the Olympus Photo Club history page precisely says Sep 1936. However the oldest ads found date from 1937, in the Mar 1937 issue of the Camera Club magazine where it was advertised as a new product, and in the June 1937 issue of Asahi Camera. The later ad announced two variants, one with a Rulex A T-B-1-200 shutter (ルレツクスＡ), priced 78 yen, the other with an Auto-Compur T-B-1-250 shutter priced 98 yen, with a supplement of 5 yen for the case. The variant with a Rulex shutter is generally unknown by Western collectors, and no picture has been observed, but there is a record of an eBay transaction (see here). As for the variant with a Compur shutter, according to the Olympus corporate site, only five or six of them are known still to exist. The Compur shutter plate had the FD logo on the right (standing for "Friedrich Deckel"), the usual COMPUR marking at the bottom and a small plate marked OLYMPUS screwed on top, at the place usually provided in the Compur rim-set shutters to display the camera maker's name. The shutter itself had a selftimer and a screw to attach a soft release. We can also observe what looks like a shutter release linkage: the normal position of the Compur shutter release was maybe impractical because of the folding struts, and a linkage seemed to provide a shutter release located higher, immediately to the left of the lens. The shutter was later changed to a Koho with 1-150-B-T speeds, a shutter made by Olympus and based on the Prontor II. The shutter plate was marked OLYMPUS-TOKYO N, and the shutter rim was marked KOHO. From late 1937 Takachiho sold the Semi Olympus II (セミ・オリンパス・Ⅱ型), with a body designed by the company. It was another 4.5×6cm camera, with a horizontal folding bed, a rigid tubular finder and an accessory shoe to the right. It had the same Zuiko 1:4.5 f=7.5cm lens as its predecessor. The first version of the Semi Olympus II had a finder off-centered to the left, and the folding bed opening button was at the center. It was advertised in Oct 1937 in Asahi Camera, and it was also presented in a 1937 brochure available in this page of the Olympus corporate site. In both documents the 1-150-B-T shutter was called Laurel (ローレル, rōreru). On the pictures the shutter rim seems to be marked LAUREL although this is barely legible. On the brochure there is a sticker indicating a price of 105 yen. The book by Francesch and the Olympus Photo Club history pages both indicate that "Laurel" was the first name of the Koho shutter, and that it was dropped because it was already registered. The latter pages also mentions the existence of a transitional variant with the shutter named "Dauled". The only pictures of the first variant with offset finder and Laurel shutter that have been observed are taken from the original advertising, so it is unsure whether it was actually sold. The next version had a centered finder, an opening button offset to the left and a Koho 1-150-B-T shutter, marked OLYMPUS-TOKYO N at the top of the plate and KOHO on the rim. There were advertisements in at least the Mar 1938 (see this page), June 1938 and Oct 1939 (see this page) issues of Asahi Camera, with a price of 95 or 105 yen depending on the date. Incidentally, in all the ads for the Semi Olympus II, the lens is called 瑞光 (Zuikō in kanji writing) while the shutter is called コーホー in katakana writing. This version of the Semi Olympus II has also been observed with shutter speeds going to 1/200 (see here). There was maybe an overlapping of the production of the Semi Olympus I and II. Indeed the Laurel shutter of the first Semi Olympus II certainly predates the Koho shutter of the late Semi Olympus I. The lower lens number observed on a Semi Olympus II is No 2001 for a late version with centered finder at the Olympus collection, and the higher lens number observed on a Semi Olympus I with Koho shutter is No 6358 at the Olympus collection too. However John Foster has emitted doubts about the latter camera and suggested in this page that it could be a composite. Olympus Six Released in 1939 or 1940, the Olympus Six (オリンパス・シックス) had a body very similar to that of the Semi Olympus II. It was now dual-format and could take 6×6 and 4.5×6 pictures with a mask. There were two red windows in the back, one for each format, with a sliding cover accordingly marked 6X6 or 4.5X6. There was a body release and folding optical finder but no accessory shoe. The Koho shutter was upgraded to 1/200. It was called Koho II in a wartime ad for the Olympus Six, and Koho III in an Olympus Six brochure available at the Olympus corporate site. The same brochure announced two versions, the Olympus Six I with a Zuiko f:4.5 lens and the Olympus Six II with a Zuiko f:3.5 lens. John Foster also mentions a model with an unnamed shutter to 1/300. There is some confusion about the number of elements of the lenses mounted on the Olympus Six. Some sources say that the Six was released in 1939 with the same f:4.5 lens as the Semi Olympus, and that the lens became a five-element one in 1940, together with the introduction of another five-element f:3.5 version. However a post-1942 wartime ad (shown here) announced both versions f:4.5 and f:3.5 with four-element lenses. John Foster gives a convincing explanation for the five-element lens being related to Zuiko S and Super Olympus markings. After the war, the Olympus Six was sold again with a Zuiko 75mm f:3.5 lens. Foster's page shows one with a Koho shutter and the book by Francesch shows another with a Copal 1–1/200, B, T shutter and no strap lugs. Olympus Chrome Six In 1948 the Olympus Chrome Six I introduced a diecast body, a chrome top plate, an accessory shoe and a rigid optical finder. It had the same Zuiko 75mm f:3.5 lens and Copal 1–1/200, B, T shutter. It still had the ability to take pictures in 4.5×6 format with a mask. Inside the finder a blue filter distinguished the 4.5×6 picture frame. There was also a vertical parallax index. The body was only marked Olympus Six on the top plate, with Olympus-Six embossed in the back. All the following models shared these markings, which today often causes confusion. The Chrome Six II, also released in 1948, was the same camera with a Zuiko 75mm f:2.8 lens. (The chronology at the Olympus corporate site says it was equipped with the film surface stabilizer, which is certainly a confusion with the next Chrome Six III model.) It is usually said that the changes distinguishing the next Chrome Six III model from the previous Chrome Six I and II were the bigger diecast accessory shoe, the synchronized shutter with B-1-200 speeds and the film reminder. However an English user manual for the Olympus Chrome Six (observed at a Yahoo Japan auction, with "Nov 13, 1951" handwritten on it) presents a model with a big accessory shoe and synchronized shutter and a coated lens but no film reminder, calling it "Model I coated Zuiko 1:3.5 f=7.5cm" and "Model II coated Zuiko 1:2.8 f=7.5cm". In contrast the user manual of the Chrome Six III available here at butkus.org presented a camera with a film reminder and a device called "film plane corrector", located underneath the film reminder according to one of the pictures. The purpose of this device was apparently to tension the film to enhance the film flatness. The manual of the Chrome Six III emphasized the film plane corrector as the main innovation of the new model. It is probable but not certain that the cameras without film reminder did not have the film plane corrector either. It is most probable that the Chrome Six I and II progressively evolved during their production run, with the adoption of the bigger accessory shoe, the synchronized shutter and coated lens. Transitional lens markings have been observed, from Takatiho Tokyo Zuiko on the early lenses to Olympus Zuiko F.C. on the late lenses. The transition from Takatiho to Olympus probably occured in 1949 with the company's name change. It seemingly occured together with the adoption of lens coating. Here are the observed lens markings for the f:3.5 lens, ordered by ascending lens number: * Takatiho Tokyo Zuiko 1:3.5 f=7.5cm * Olympus Zuiko Coated 1:3.5 f=7.5cm * Olympus Zuiko C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm with red C. (see here) * Olympus Zuiko C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm with black C. (see here) * Olympus Zuiko F.C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm Transitional shutters have been observed too, from the unsynchronized Copal 1-200-B-T to the synchronized Copal B-1-200, marked S.COPAL on top, called Synchro-Copal in the manual: * Copal 1-200-B-T, not synchronized * Copal 1-200-B-T, synchronized, small sync post on the left * Copal 1-200-B-T, synchronized, big sync post on the top left (where the later shutters were marked S.COPAL) * Synchro-Copal B-1-200, synchronized with a big sync post on the top right, marked S.COPAL (already in the 1951 manual for the Chrome Six I and II) The Chrome Six III was probably distinguished by the addition of the "film plane corrector" device together with the film reminder and a slightly higher release button. There were two variants, the Chrome Six III A with the Olympus Zuiko F.C. f:3.5 lens and the Chrome Six III B with the Olympus Zuiko F.C. f:2.8 lens. Both lenses were called "Zuiko Full Coated" in the manual. The Chrome Six III appeared in 1951 or 1952 (a guarantee card dated Aug 20th, 1952 has been observed with a Chrome Six IIIA at an eBay auction). At some point during the production of the Chrome Six III, the marking of the f:3.5 lens was modified again and became Olympus D.Zuiko F.C.. It indicated that the lens had four elements, D being the fourth letter in the alphabet. It possibly came with a design recomputation, as suggested in the book by Francesch. All the later f:3.5 models had the same marking. The Chrome Six IV A and Chrome Six IV B from 1954 had an uncoupled rangefinder added in a modified top plate. The IV A had the f:3.5 lens, and the IV B had the f:2.8 lens. It is said that the IVA model was sometimes called Chrome Six RIA. Probably the IVB was also called Chrome Six RIB. This explains the later "Chrome Six RII" appellation, probably for "rangefinder model II". The chronology at the Olympus corporate site presents the IVA and the RIA as separate models, both from 1954, but it is not very reliable. The Chrome Six V A and Chrome Six V B from 1955 had a new top plate with the optical finder integrated, with a reducing mask built in the finder for the 4.5x6 format. The Chrome Six V also had an advance lever replacing the advance knob. The V A had the f:3.5 lens and the V B had the f:2.8 lens. The Chrome Six RII A and Chrome Six RII B from 1955 were very similar to the Chrome Six V with an uncoupled rangefinder. It is said that the shutter top speed was upgraded in 1956 to 1/300. Indeed a model with 1/300 top speed has been observed. Other minor variations have been observed in the height of the top plate, the shape of the release button, the sync plug and the color of the depth of field plate. These were the last Olympus folders. In 1957 Olympus had abandoned the 6×6 folders and the 6x6 TLRs and made only 35mm models. Bibliography *''Asahi Camera'' (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10〜40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7 Pp. 62–3, 335. * Dominique Francesch and Jean-Paul Francesch. Histoire de l'appareil photographique Olympus de 1936 à 1983. Paris: Dessain et Tolra, 1985. ISBN 2-249-27679-X Links In English: * The Olympus folders' page at John Foster's site is the best reference page in English about the Olympus folders * Medium-format cameras at the Olympus corporate site * Chronology at the Olympus corporate site * Chrome Six IVA at Cla_came in English and in Japanese, with its operation described in pictures (For either language option, keep following the "next" link at the foot of the page) * Chrome Six at Cosmonet, said to be a Chrome Six IVA but illustrated is a RIIA * An early Chrome Six III presented as a Chrome Six I (within Michel Guillemette's Caméra de Collection) * Chrome Six RIIB, in both English and Japanese, at Takahara Minoru's site * Web archive of a page by Paul-Lauritz Amundsen about the Olympus folders, with a picture of a Semi Olympus with Koho and an Olympus Six with Copal, both belonging to the Olympus collection In German: * Pages within Olypedia, a German-language wiki about Olympus: **Semi Olympus I **Semi Olympus II **Olympus Six **Chrome Six I **Chrome Six II **Chrome Six III **Chrome Six IVA **Chrome Six IVB **Chrome Six VA **Chrome Six VB In Japanese: * Olympus history pages at the Olympus Photo Club website, with exhaustive information: ** The Semi models ** The Six and Chrome Six models * Olympus Six at Japan Family Camera (some photographs, no text) * Chrome Six III at 415 Foto text in Japanese, some photographs * Chrome Six III and Chrome Six V at the Ichirizuka site by Madam-san: photographs, explanatory text in Japanese, and sample taken by the Chrome Six V. * Chrome Six III at Yokky's Triplet House: photograph, text in Japanese, samples taken by the Chrome Six * Chrome Six III at Shoko's Hana no shashin homepage: small photograph, text in Japanese, samples taken by the Chrome Six * The Chrome Six III in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology: poor photograph and minimal text (in Japanese), notable for demonstrating that this camera is in the collection of JCII * Chrome Six IVB at a page of the All Japan Classic Camera Club: one photograph and minimal text in Japanese, within a page about many folders * Chrome Six VA at ksmt.com: minimal text in Japanese * A link to a Japanese blog, with a picture of a Chrome Six RIIA with 1/300 top speed In Chinese: * Pages in Chinese with an Olympus Six with unknown T-B-1-250 shutter and a Chrome Six RIIA, you can enlarge the picture by clicking on it. Literature and ads * Instruction manual for the Chrome Six III at butkus.org * More Japanese ads, including [http://syasinsyuu.cool.ne.jp/camera/syasinki5.jpg an ad from the Mar 1938 issue of Asahi Camera for the Semi Olympus II] * A page with Japanese prewar ads, including an ad from Oct 1939 for the Semi Olympus II * A page at the Olympus corporate site, with links to brochures of the Semi Olympus II and Olympus Six, in pdf format * Old Japanese ads, among which is an undated ad for the Olympus Six Repairs and technical info * Olympus Chrome Six V repair notes at Kan's Room * A funny home made camera based on a Chrome Six V body with a Copal #1 shutter and a Nikkor lens Category: 4.5x6 folding Category: 6x6 folding Category: 6x6 rangefinder folding Category: Japan Category: Olympus Category: O